100 



WEEDS AXD USEFUL PLAXTS. 



Root perennial. Stem 1-2 feet high, hranched, smcMDthish. Leaflds half an inch to an 

 inch long — the lateral ones subsessili-, tii - t i-minal one petiolulate ; common petiole one- 

 fourth to three-fourths of an inch l":,-" /' ' erect, on peduncles half an inch to an 

 inch long. Corolla violet-purple, netii l^- ' wj a-, long as the calyx. 



Introduced : cultivated. Native of ^paiu. i^7. June -July, Fr. August. 



Ohs. This was formerly cultivated on a small scale, as a fodder ; but 

 it did not find favor vrith our farmers, and is now rarely seen in Pennsyl- 

 vania. It might answer, for soiUno;, m suitable situations — though I 

 think the stem is too lis'Deous and wiry to V)Ccorae a favorite fodder, 

 where the red clover can b j had. Its culture is successful in Xorthern 

 Mexico, where it is cut several times during the season. The Sarnt-foin 

 {Hedysarum Onobrychis, L., or Onohrychis sntiva, Lam., a plant of the 

 Htdysarum tribe), is much cultivated for fodder, on the calcareous soils 

 of Europe — and the late Mr. Crawford, of Georgia, interested himself 

 in endeavoring to introduce it into the Southern States : but I do not 

 learn that its culture was adopted to any extent. I have never met with 

 it on any farm ; and presume it scarcely belongs to the Agriculture of 

 this country. 



2. M. lupuU'm, L. Stem procumbent, pubescent ; leaflets wedge- 

 obovate, denticulate at the apex ; flowers in short spikes, yellow ; legnmes 

 reniform 1-seeded. 



Hop-like Medicago. Black Mcdick. Xonesuch. 



Biennial? St^:m 6-12 inches long, somewhat branched, procumbent. Leaflds 

 inch to nearly an inch long, sometimes nearly rhomboid. Common petioles yi of an inch 

 to an inch in length. Hea.ds of flowers at first roundish, finally oblong, on slender pedun- 

 cles 1-2 inches long. Legumes black at maturity. 



Fields, &c. Xat. from Europe. June -Aug. 



Ohs. This species which, when in flower, resembles a yellow clover, 

 is quite common in pastures in England, and is sparingly naturalized in 

 this country. vSeveral other species, recognized by their spirally coiled 

 pods, are sometimes found in M-aste places, their seeds having been intro- 

 ducdPin wool. # 



5. EOBI'XIA, i. EocrsT-TREE. 



[Name in honor of Jolin and Vespasian Rotdn ; French Botanists.] 



Calyx short, 5-toothed, slightly 2-lipped. VexiUirin large and rounded, 

 reflexed, scarcely longer than the wings and keel. Lc^'iune compressed, 



Fig. 76. A curved pod of Lucerne (Medicago sativum). 



